“Trade can and must be part of our efforts to stimulate a recovery,” Ban told the meeting at the WTO, saying many countries would need infrastructure upgrades and other support to weather this period of weakened demand.

“Trade openness alone is not sufficient. Countries must first have a competitive production base in order to export,” he said in his prepared remarks.

The Geneva meeting, attended by the heads of the World Bank, IMF and various regional development lenders, is not expected to yield new promises from major donors such as the US, EU and Japan.

Instead, government officials, exporting businesses, banks and international lenders will discuss priorities for future investments in poor countries.

The WTO and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in a report prepared for the conference, said investing in roads, ports, electrical grids and telecoms networks appeared to be “the most effective way to reignite economic growth and reduce poverty.”

“Aid for trade can have an immediate stimulus effect,” averting the worst consequences of the downturn,” they said.

Last week, WTO director-general Pascal Lamy circulated a report raising concerns that exporters are struggling to get the loans they need to ship their goods.

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